App of the Week (February 26, 2012): Scott’s Submarine

One of the hardest things to do when creating an educational eBook for children is seamlessly integrating the educational material into the story without dulling down the entire eBook experience. When done right, it truly is something to be commended.

Whereas most children’s book simply help children learn how to read words, Scott’s Submarine takes that one step further. Instead of providing an irreverent story or maybe even an entertaining fable, this eBook actually doubles as a reading helper and a learning tool about the deep blue sea. So, while children can hone their reading skills with the words, they can also build up their brain banks with marine life factoids.

Construction-wise, Scott’s Submarine is gorgeous and pristine. Its Pixar-esque 3D animations will immediately catch the eye of children and maybe even grown-ups alike (hat tip to 3D illustrator Matt Roussel for that). On top of that, the eBook features writing that can alternate between beginner (2-3 year olds) and novice (4+ year olds) levels and even multilingual text for English, French, Spanish, and Japanese readers.

Given this initial issue about marine life, it’s not too much of a stretch to assume that future issues of Scott will feature other themes and environments which will present even more learning opportunities for its readers. Looks like creators Square Igloo might have a franchise on their hands here!

Mohamedsays:

Thank you guys for your nice comments and thanks to Ansca for making Scott’s Submarine app of the week!

@David I’m not sure what you mean about the interface looking more like a website. The “ad” shows exactly what’s in the app as it’s just a capture of the Corona simulator running the app. Also, it’s not a kid’s game, it’s a kid’s book.

@Scott Thanks, I’m very proud of the photo feature and it seems to be very popular among customers…

@Mohamed Nope, this one wasn’t made with Kwik

My second bookapp is already finished and should be released pretty soon. The third one (featuring Scott & Jazz the cat) is planned for next month.